This story is about Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, who lives with her widowed father in Paris. Hers is a world of touch and sound and smell that revolves around the Museum of Natural History, where her father works and Marie-Laure dreams. Then there's Werner, a German orphan absorbed, but not quite assimilated into, the Hitler Youth. His inquisitive mind and love of all things mechanical may yet give him an escape from the poverty of a rural coal-mining town. Their lives intersect when the Nazis invade Paris and Marie-Laure flees to the walled coastal town Gare Saint-Lazare. A radio program, a missing diamond, and a war-shocked Great Uncle and his courageous housekeeper all figure into their lives in unexpected ways. Oh, and don't forget Captain Nemo and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a background theme that somehow pulls everything else together.

One of the best books I've read this year. There are some achingly beautiful descriptions that manage to set both the physical and the emotional scene, as well as providing insights into human character. I didn't really think that we needed the post-war "where are they now?" wrap up, but perhaps the author felt the need to give some of the characters a completed history. I recommend this book.

Off in a Christmas box. Happy reading!

This sounds so good - thank you and Merry Christmas!

This story was engaging and I enjoyed reading it. A bit sentimental in spots but I thought the characters were well thought-out.

Left in the little free library at the Dixon Art Gallery and Gardens